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OU football: Calvin Woodworth dies at 86, was proud of Sooner ties

Calvin Woodworth was an all-Big Seven tackle on Bud Wilkinson’s 1955 national championship team and never forgot the wisdom he learned as a Sooner.

“The way coach Wilkinson was, he would mention anything that would encourage us to play better,” Woodworth once told me.

Woodworth could recite particular pearls from Wilkinson: “Don’t lie to yourself. Don’t tell yourself you did the best you could, if you didn’t. Only a fool lies to himself.”

Woodworth used those lessons well before dying Wednesday at age 86. Funeral services are at 10 a.m. Monday at the First Baptist Church in Minco.